1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multicore optical connector for use in connecting multicore optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional multicore optical connector has a structure such as is shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, numerals 10 and 11 denote multicore optical connectors. End faces 10a and 11a of the multicore optical connectors 10 and 11 have a pair of alignment pin holes 13 and optical fiber holes 12 formed therebetween. Optical fibers of a multicore optical fiber tape 16 are inserted in the optical fiber holes 12 so that the end faces thereof are exposed. A pair of alignment pins 14 are inserted in the alignment pin holes 13 of the multicore optical connectors 10 and 11. More specifically, one end portion of the pair of alignment pins is inserted in the alignment pin holes 13 of the connector 10, and the other end portion is inserted in the alignment pin holes 13 of the connector 11. In this manner, the connection end faces 10a and 11a of the connectors 10 and 11 are brought into contact with each other. Thereafter, the connectors 10 and 11 are held together by an elastic clip 15.
As described above, the conventional multicore optical connector has a plurality of optical fiber holes arranged in a row and interposed between a pair of alignment pin holes 13. With this structure, only two to nineteen optical fibers can be connected at a time by using conventional multicore optical connectors.
In recent years, with the expansion of optical communication networks to transmit a greater amount of information, demand has arisen for a more compact optical connector for connecting a greater number of optical fibers than is possible using conventional optical connectors.
If the pitch of the optical fiber holes is reduced to increase the number of optical fiber holes, it becomes difficult to determine which optical fiber should be inserted in which optical fiber hole. As a result, the efficiency with which multicore optical connectors are manufactured is greatly reduced.
Further, the number of optical fibers contained in one multicore optical fiber tape cannot be changed. Therefore, to manufacture a multicore optical connector for connecting a greater number of optical fibers, it is necessary to use a plurality of multicore optical fiber tapes. Thus, if the optical fiber holes are arranged at regular pitches, the side end portions of adjacent optical fiber tapes will overlap each other when optical fibers are inserted in the optical fiber holes. As a result, optical fibers near the end portion of an optical fiber tape may be bent. This bent or the like is undesirable since it may cause the increase of connection loss.